Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Suria Cafe: Authentic Malay Food

So when you read blogs describing how YUM restaurants are, you sorta want to go check it out.And then when you Urbanspoon the place and it comes up with a rating >90%, you definitely go check it out.

And THAT, is my life story on how I ended up here at Suria Cafe on a Monday, which of course we all know is a perfect day for pigging out on some Malaysian cuisine. Just like how Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, etc etc also is.

Teh Tarik - $3

I've only ever come across 2 or 3 teh tariks and have never tried one from where they supposedly taste the best back in Malaysia, so, frankly I don't know what a good one is meant to taste like. But all that matters is that you like how it tastes yeah? Who gives about all that authenticity shiz.

Tried deciding between a tea and a coffee, and the guy behind the counter was really friendly and accommodating. You rarely get staff nowadays who actually take the effort to find out your likes, dislikes, preferences and general pickiness before actually recommending you something that fits after you tell them your life story. But in my case, after a simple "I think I like tea better", he very wisely suggested the frothy pulled milk tea :P

The glass was a bit on the small side compared to other teh tariks I've had, but still good. Bit too hot to hold seeing the glass is thin and...glass...a handle would have been good. As well as a bigger cup of hot, milky and sweet pulled teh :)

Kway Tiow Soup with Seafood - $11.50

Deciding from an array of foreign names that were on the menu needed a bit of time and a bit of imagination. So alongside experimenting with new dishes at a new restaurant to us, we decided to stick to something that sounded a bit more familiar, being the kway tiow soup.

When it came out, it looked a little too familiar, because it exactly resembled what we have at home many mornings. The dish consisted of flat rice noodles in a clear broth topped with various seafood (fish ball, squid, seafood extender (aka fake crab meat)), green choy sum and fried shallots. I have heard some not so nice things about those dried fried shallots that come in plastic jars that have some horrific ingredients (melted plastic anyone?) and while this suggests some nasty health implications, you can never be too cautious your entire life.So...I love fried shallots! :) and ate all of it.

This is a good bowl to order if you don't want anything too heavy, everything tastes light and feels relatively healthy to devour.

Mee Rebus - $8.50

When you go to a new place, it would be a safe bet to seek out what they do best. This Mee Rebus boasted SURIA SPECIALTY! and without a doubt, it would be stupid to not try something that's recommended by the restaurant itself. Like going to a buffet while you're on a diet - stupid. Or going on a diet in the first place - stupider. =D

Admittedly I was hesitant to order this at first because while I am impartial to all foods and love them all fairly and equally, sometimes I don't feel the same way about sweet things that are not in the form of dessert. The description of this was egg noodles with spicy sweet curry gravy and while that sounds enticing, I don't know my tolerance for sweet based savoury meals...if that makes any sense.

And indeed it got a bit too much for me the more I ate it, but if you are a sweet person and like your things sweet, this could be for you. Alas I am not sweet nor am I hot, hence the need to pick all those bright red rings of chilli out before I dived in head first.

Murtabak with Curry Chicken - $8.50

I asked the guy working for a description of what murtabak was and I think I was like yep! before he was finished with his description. I love anything that is freshly made and hot to touch and burns your fingertips when you're an impatient little one who doesn't care about burnt fingertips and says "and" too much and ends up with pathetically long unreadable sentences.

Moving on.

Murtabak

Anyway. I was very happy when this came out looking all toasty and hawt as. So it was described as paratha with chicken, egg and onion filling with curry, and being hand made in house. It seems like adding "in house" makes all the difference on menus these days, cause it sounds so much more real and genuine and with love rather than something out of a packet.

It arrived a lot thicker and crispier than I had imagined in my head: a measly floppy looking package with sparsely given fillings. This was the exact opposite! It was bulky and it was thick, and it felt like you were actually eating something when your teeth meets with the crispy pastry and makes a crunch crunch noise. And the filling was very filling indeed!

Curry Chicken

I reckon the murtabak did fine without any additional dipping sauce or curries but the inclusion of this is always welcome...but with an additional $1.50. You get a lone piece of drumstick bathed in a pool of curry sauce. And... well...there's not much to say about a chicken leg in curry sauce.

...

If Urbanspoon was a god, I would be an adept follower. No need for that though, as I already follow numerous food blogs religiously and constantly look forward to doing my readings everyday. Through these food hunters and the delicious stories they spread, I had already read many reviews on Suria and the piece of Malaysian goodness it brings to Perth.

It is actually quite secluded, in the middle of nowhere suburb of Girrawheen, so one would not find this place if they didn't live around here or didn't hear of it and specifically trek up here. First thing I noticed was how clean and polished and clutterless the place was, but also how empty it looked. Maybe I had come after the lunch rush or something, but the place was very quiet indeed. All good, means our food comes quicker and we get personalised service :)

I am unsure how close it resembles the dishes you'd find back in Malaysia and how good it replicates them, so I am unable to comment on that aspect for you comparers out there. But the dishes are pretty tasty, with some being value for your money spent while others are a bit small for the price. So choose wisely!

If you're looking for ambiance, this place probably won't excite you that much with its white walls, white ceilings, white tables and (shiny) white floors. But you're here to eat and that will probably be enough to excite you. Add to that the friendly, helpful and smiley staff who actually look interested to serve you and suddenly the ambiance becomes so much better :D

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